Category: abbeynews

Please note the following changes to the liturgical timetable and opening hours during Holy Week and Easter at Glenstal Abbey:

 

Holy Thursday

Morning Prayer at 7am.

Midday Prayer at 12.35pm.

Solemn Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7pm.

Compline at 9.45pm.

 

Good Friday

Morning Prayer at 7.30am.

Midday Prayer at 12.35pm.

Solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at 3pm.

Compline at 8.35pm.

 

Holy Saturday

Morning Prayer at 7.30am.

Midday Prayer at 12.35pm.

Evening Prayer at 6pm.

Solemn Vigil of the Lord’s Resurrection at 10pm.

 

Easter Sunday

Solemn Morning Prayer at 8am.

Mass (no music) at 10am.

Sung Mass at 12 noon.

Solemn Vespers at 6pm.

Compline at 8.10pm.

 

Please note that Morning Prayer will take place at the later time of 7am from Easter Monday until Sunday 12^thApril, with the normal liturgical timetable resuming on Monday 13^th April.

 

Confessions

Good Friday at 11am, 4.30pm and 5.30pm.

Holy Saturday at 11am, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm.

 

Guesthouse

Closed from Wednesday 1^st April until Friday 10^th April.

 

Reception and Shop opening hours

Holy Thursday from 9am-5pm.

Good Friday from 9am-3pm.

Holy Saturday from 10am-5pm.

Easter Sunday from 9am-1pm.

Easter Monday closed.

Tuesday 7^th April, Wednesday 8^th April, Thursday 9^th April from 10am-4pm.

Friday 10^th April from 11:30am-5pm.

Saturday 11^th April from 9:30am-5pm.

I recently had the chance to spend five weeks in Glenstal Abbey. It was quite a different setting from that of my own community: the Monastic Community of Jerusalem (Fraternité monastique de Jérusalem) whose motto, “In the heart of the city, in the heart of God,” indicates our choice to live a contemplative life in the midst of crowds.

Since I joined the community in 2009, I have lived in vibrant cities as diverse as Paris, Montreal, Cologne, and now in Strasbourg. Our community was founded in 1975 in Paris, in response to the then-Archbishop’s call for the creation of monasteries in the city in order to help city dwellers reconnect with contemplation within the urban rhythm of life.

This led to the creation of two independent communities, one of men and one of women, sharing the same spirituality and celebrating the liturgy together. We lead – or try to lead – a contemplative life whilst remaining close to the people. Our experience of work tends to be unusual for a monastic lifestyle: we look for part-time jobs in the city, usually as employees, both to earn a living and to share something of people’s lives.

Some teach in schools, work in hospitals, are secretaries in enterprises, and we sometimes end up in unexpected positions: I studied tourism and heritage management, but during my religious life I found myself working as an editorial secretary for a religious magazine, as an accountant in a charity organization, as a webmaster for my own community and – closer to my skills – as a tour guide in Cologne’s Cathedral.

It can be quite a struggle to lead a monastic life in the turmoil of the city, especially for somebody who grew up in the countryside like me. But – wisely – we leave the city every now and again for what we call a “desert day” and I can reconnect with nature, go for a hike, listen to the “silence” of the countryside, try to identify the birdsong… Needless to say, I particularly enjoyed the surroundings of Glenstal Abbey in this regard!

As in all monastic communities, the singing of the Liturgy of the Hours plays an important role in our daily routine. This is all the more significant to me because prayer is associated with music. Music is indeed one of my joys. Even though I am not from a musical family I was introduce to it at a very young age, and I started playing the clarinet as a child. As an adult, I learned the flute, which proved to be much easier to play with other musicians or with keyboard accompaniment (thus solving for me all the troubles of sight transposition I had with the clarinet!). It was a skill I could develop in religious life and, moving from one place to another, it gave me the opportunity to discover new repertoires, and meet and play with talented musicians. The most recent experience I made was indeed a great source of shared joy: playing the recessional for the First Sunday of Lent – Sonata in F for Flute and Continuo (Opus 2, No. 1) Adagio; Allegro – accompanied on the organ by Abbot Columba McCann OSB.

I warmly thank the monks for their hospitality and kindness. At a time when my own community is undergoing a period of reform, this stay at Glenstal has given me a great opportunity to take some time for reflection and to rediscover monastic life in a new light.

Frère Marc-Abraham Babski, FMJ.

This month the monastic community remembers Brother Benedict Tutty OSB on the 30^th anniversary of his death.

John Gerard (Sean) Tutty was born in Hollywood, County Wicklow, on 6^th July 1924. After secondary school with the Christian Brothers in Naas, County Kildare, he helped for some years in his father’s businesses in Hollywood.

He entered Glenstal on 19^th November 1949, receiving the name Benedict and was professed on 21^stNovember 1951.  He was sent to the art school at Maredsous Abbey in 1952 where he blossomed artistically.

A year spent in Münsterschwarzach Abbey from 1961 to 1962, under the tutelage of Brother Adelmar Dölger OSB who helped him to perfect his technique as a craftsman and also widened his artistic horizons.

Back in Ireland, his career took off and he became one of the country’s foremost liturgical artists – a term he disliked. He was the right man in the right place at a time when many churches were being re-ordered after the Second Vatican Council and many new ones being built. He had an excellent working-relationship with the architect Richard Hurley, with whom he developed a close friendship.

While continuing to work on a steady stream of commissions and developing a distinctive style, Brother Benedict was a model of monastic observance – an observance flavoured with his own sardonic slant on human nature and monastic life. For many years he was elected to the Seniorate and acted as zelator – effectively assistant novice-master.

He taught the foundation-course in the Limerick School of Art and Design and held Saturday-morning art-classes for local children in his workshop.

In 1974 he contracted brucellosis, which made it impossible for him to work in his principal medium of copper. He began to experiment with terracotta, rapidly gaining a mastery of this medium. A testimony to this is the Madonna and Child presently in the reception-area of the monastery.

On the 21^st March 1996 he participated enthusiastically in the celebration of the Transitus of Saint Benedict, expressing optimism for the future of the community. He died suddenly the following morning, 22^nd March 1996.

May he rest in peace.

The Limerick Museum cordially invites you to the opening celebration of The Mystery and the Mud: Exhibition of Paintings by Emmaus O’Herlihy OSB on Thursday 9^th April 2026 at 5.30pm at the Limerick Museum, The Old Franciscan Friary, 111-112 Henry Street, Limerick, V94 VW2D. The exhibition continues through 30th April.

Emmaus O’Herlihy OSB is a Benedictine monk and visual artist at Glenstal Abbey, Murroe, County Limerick. His paintings draw on Christian imagery while engaging contemporary aesthetic and theological questions. In particular, his work considers how recent artistic strategies reshape aesthetic priorities and awaken an ethical summons to the Other.

Brother Emmaus uses art to challenge a dualistic mentality that would over-spiritualize the human person at the expense of our physical reality. This focus on the physical form aims to move beyond the fixed, harmonious bodies of Classical art toward a representation that is open to the messiness of lived experience.

Emmaus holds a Bachelor of Design from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, and completed both a Master of Theological Studies and a Doctorate in Theology at the University of St Michael’s College, University of Toronto, Canada.

His research – awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal for Academic Excellence – challenges static perceptions of the divine, a theme that permeates his own canvas. Central to Emmaus’ work is the principle of caro salutis est cardo, salvation hinges on the flesh.

Emmaus’ work has been shown in Toronto, London (Ontario), Los Angeles, Munich, Dublin, and Limerick.

Áine Lawlor of RTÉ Radio 1 explores religious, spiritual and ethical issues through discussions, interviews and features in her Divine Sparks series. Her show recently came to Glenstal Abbey, offering listeners a few moments of calm and insights into life at the monastery. Listen from 24 minutes here…

Fr. Simon Sleeman: John, in his gospel is on an urgent mission but he is not in a hurry. He is patient…he gives us every chance to get it – gives us sign after sign to convince us that this man, Jesus, was sent by God and is truly the Son of God. Sent, sent, sent….40 times John says it in one way or another….Today we have the sixth sign…one more to go…the raising of Lazarus…and then the biggest one of all, the resurrection…Today he is after our possible blindness to the truth.

John sets this ‘sign’ up carefully. First, Jesus heals the man born blind – something he didn’t even ask for – breaks the Sabbath, and having stirred things up sufficiently, disappears – his longest absence in the gospel.

And then John then goes at…challenging us, putting us, his audience to work for some self-reflection on the health of our sight  – invites to watch his carefully chosen protagonists, enter the stage, in pairs – and decide…. ‘Who do you say I am?’ ‘A man sent by God?’  Well, I’m not sure about that…and we watch as blindness unfolds before our very eyes.

First the Indifferent Eye: the locals – friends, neighbours – filled with curiosity at this happening in our quiet village…nothing ever happens here. They are don’t care who did it they just can’t wait to bring him to the religious experts, the Pharisees and see how they react. Their indifference and sense of inadequacy blinds them.

And the man born blind sees this man, Jesus.

Next the Judgemental Eye: Enter the Pharisees –  the respectable people, the religious experts of their day, the recognised authority on the scriptures and the law – they don’t hesitate – they pronounce their verdict quick time, their minds settled…closed…‘he is a sinner’ ‘breaking the Sabbath’. No question…end of matter.

Judgement blinds them and the man born blind acknowledges Jesus as a prophet.  (I sometimes wish this man had a name, but maybe he is all of us)

Next up, ‘The Fearful Eye: The Pharisees, irritated by the whole scene send, as one does on such occasions, for his parents.  ‘The parents are out of their depth and intimidated by the authorities. ‘It is not our fault, we know nothing about this’, ‘Ask him. He is old enough’. And fear takes over, and blinds them.  And the Pharisees murmur.

The Man born blind acknowledges that Jesus is from God.

The parents exit, quietly, and more Jews arrive. Our friend gets a further grilling …Now it is his turn to be irritated – he even makes fun of them and is not the least intimidated but just astonished at their lack of insight.

Next the Resentful Eye: The Jews, angry with this once blind man and resentful of this disruptive, meddling Jewish Jesus, chase the Man born blind into darkness – they think, they hope…their anger and resentment spilling over, they are blind.

And then as if from nowhere, Jesus re-appears. He heard how the Pharisees had mistreated his friend and he went looking for him… they meet and Jesus looked at him and loved him. The man born blind sees Jesus for the first time and recognises the sign which everyone else missed… God present and at work in his life and the man born blind believed in this man sent by God, this Son of Man and worshipped him.

John leads us slowly.. Who do you see? Maybe we don’t, can’t see- sight dimmed by indifference, sight closed by judgement, by murmuring, sight shut down by fear, clouded by resentment and anger? 

And finally, John  presents the Loving Eye. See the ‘truth’, ‘love’ standing before you  …The Son of Man inviting you…. ‘Unless you see a thing in the light of love’, John tells us, ‘you will not see it at all’. It is with the loving eye that reality is revealed, blindness healed, and life transfigured and renewed. Love is the light in which we see light.

‘Yes’ you are the Christ, the Son of God’. You have the message of eternal life….Yes, yes, yes.’  I see….

Fr. Denis Hooper: THE ENGLISH COMEDIAN NOEL COWARD SANG A SONG IN THE 1950’S TITLED “MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN GO OUT IN THE MIDDAY SUN”

SOME OF YOU WILL HAVE GONE ON HOLIDAYS TO HOT COUNTRIES IN THE SUMMER AND WILL HAVE EXPERIENCED WHAT IT IS LIKE DURING A SEVERE HEATWAVE. ANYONE WITH A BIT OF SENSE STAYS INDOORS DURING THE MIDDAY SUN WITH THE AIRCONDITIONING TURNED UP TO FULL!

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THE HEAT OF THE MIDDAY SUN IN PALESTINE. PEOPLE CAN COLLAPSE FROM HEAT EXHAUSTION. SOME PEOPLE EVEN DIE FROM IT.

I LEARNED A LESSON FROM A PARAMEDIC WHO TREATED A MAN WHO HAD COLLAPSED FROM HEAT EXHAUSTION – NEVER WEAR LONG PANTS IN A HEATWAVE – THEY TRAP THE HEAT. ONLY WEAR SHORTS…

IN FLORIDA THEY SAY THAT AT MIDDAY YOU COULD FILE A MISSING PERSON REPORT. LOOKING FOR YOUR SHADOW.

WHEN YOU COME INTO THIS CHURCH – ON THE LEFT AS YOU ENTER – YOU WILL SEE A PAINTING OF JESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AT THE WELL. THE TITLE OF THE PAINTING IS “DE PROFUNDIS” WHICH TRANSLATES “OUT OF THE DEPTHS”

“OUT OF THE DEPTHS” IS A QUOTE FROM PSALM 130 AND THE PAINTING IS INSPIRED BY THIS QUOTE – ALONG WITH TODAY’S GOSPEL FROM JOHN

THE COLOURS IN THE PAINTING SUGGEST THE BURNING HEAT OF THE MIDDAY SUN 

THE SAMARITAN WOMAN IN THE PAINTING IS HOLDING A BUCKET. JESUS HAS HIS HANDS FREE  – SHE LOOKS STRESSED – HE LOOKS CALM. LOTS OF CONTRASTS

JEWS AND SAMARITANS DID NOT GET ALONG – THEY BELIEVED IN THE SAME GOD BUT HAD FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCES ABOUT HOW AND WHERE THEY WORSHIPPED GOD.

JESUS STARTS THE CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMAN

IT SOON BECOMES CLEAR THAT THEY ARE NOT ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH. BOTH OF THEM TALK ABOUT WATER BUT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT KINDS OF WATER.

SHE IS TALKING ABOUT WATER THAT QUENCHES THE THIRST. IT IS A LIQUID JUST LIKE A COLA OR ANY LIQUID WHICH QUENCHES OUR THIRST

JESUS OFFERS A WATER WHICH IS DIFFERENT – A SPIRITUAL WATER – THE WATER OF LIFE – “UISCE BEATHA” -THE WATER WHICH ADDRESSES OUR MOST FUNDAMENTAL SPIRITUAL LONGINGS

I RECENTLY LISTENED TO BOB GELDOF BEING INTERVIEWED BY BRENDAN O’CONNOR ABOUT HOW HE DEALT WITH THE TERRIBLE GRIEF HE HAS EXPERIENCED IN HIS LIFE: THE DEATH OF HIS MOTHER WHEN HE WAS NINE; HIS FORMER WIFE; AND HIS DAUGHTER. I RECOMMEND ANYONE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST OF THE INTERVIEW AS IT IS – PROFOUNDLY DE PROFUNDIS- PROFOUNDLY “OUT OF THE DEPTHS”!

I CAN’T HELP ASKING MYSELF THAT IF HE WAS AWARE OF THE HEALING WATER JESUS OFFERS THAT IN SOME WAY BOB GELDOF WOULD HAVE FOUND A DEEPER WELL HE COULD HAVE DRAWN FROM. 

JESUS TELLS US: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN, THEY SHALL BE CONSOLED”

BOB GELDOF SAID HE DIDN’T PICK HIS SCABS OF GRIEF. BUT I KNOW THAT WHEN I HAVE A SCAB I INEVITABLY BUMP IT AGAINST SOMETHING, OFTEN CAUSING IT TO BLEED. 

TO CONTINUE WITH THAT IMAGERY, I AM CERTAIN THAT THOSE OF US WHO EXPERIENCE GRIEF AND WHO TURN TO JESUS FOR THE HEALING WATER HE OFFERS US IN OUR GRIEF –

– WE DO NOT HAVE “SCABS OF GRIEF”. RATHER THOSE SCABS FOR US ARE HEALING SCARS WHERE WE FIND SOME COMFORT AND MEANING IN OUR GRIEF… –  BUT THEY ARE SCARS NONETHELESS AND THEY NEVER DO GO AWAY

THE LESSON FROM TODAY’S GOSPEL IS THAT IF YOU TURN TO THE LORD YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. YOU TOO MAY DRINK OF THE WATER OF LIFE – “THE UISCE BEATHA” –  JESUS OFFERS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US

LET’S TURN TO PSALM 130 ONCE AGAIN 

TOWARDS THE END OF THE PSLAM GIVES MEANING TO THE KIND OF WATER JESUS OFFERS THE SAMARITAN WOMAN:

PSALM 130 SAYS: “HOPE IN THE LORD

FOR WITH THE LORD THERE IS UNFAILING LOVE AND FULLNESS OF REDEMPTION”

I HAVE JUST FINISHED READING JAMES PLUNKETT’S BRILLIANT NOVEL, STRUMPET CITY. ONE OF THE CENTRAL CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK IS RASHERS TIERNEY – A MAN BARELY ABLE TO SURVIVE FROM DAY TO DAY, LIVING IN THE AWFUL POVERTY OF THE DUBLIN SLUMS IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY.

RASHERS HAS A ROW WITH A YOUNG PRIEST, FR.O’CONNOR AND SAYS HE IS GOING TO CHANGE PARISHES AS A RESULT. HE SAYS HE IS GOING TO KNOCK ON THE DOOR OF A CHURCH IN A NEARBY PARISH. HE KNOWS WHAT GOD WILL SAY TO HIM: “COME ON IN RASHERS, I KNEW YOUR KNOCK”.

WE PRAY THAT GOD WILL RECOGNISE OUR KNOCK ON THE DAY WE CALL ON HIM FOR THE WATER OF LIFE

Fr. Jarek Kurek: Some fifteen hundred years ago there lived a holy man who, like Abraham, who we heard about in the 1st reading, was not afraid to take risks. Because of that courage, that holy man was richly blessed by God; and again, like Abraham, he became a blessing for countless people in the centuries that followed.

Most of you here, I’m sure, know this saint well, as students of a Benedictine school. It is St Benedict—Benedictus in Latin, a name that simply means “blessed”—whom I want to speak to you about today.

Benedict must have been around your age when he made his first major life decision. Disappointed with the world he lived in—despite receiving a good education—he chose to leave it behind. At first glance, this might seem like a reckless move. But deep down, Benedict knew exactly what he was doing. It was not an impulsive escape, but a well-informed decision. As his biographer tells us, “even as a boy, Benedict had the heart of an elder.” Already as a boy he had the heart of and elder…

So he left everything because he wanted to respond fully to God’s call and to serve Him alone. This marked the beginning of Benedict’s journey into the mountains—both literally and spiritually.

The beginnings were not easy. Benedict chose a harsh way of life: high up in the wilderness, with little food and great isolation. Yet aren’t these very challenges the ones that test a person’s character and shape true resilience?

Before long, word of his radical way of life spread, and disciples began to arrive. People wanted to learn from him and to live as he did. Eventually, Benedict was asked to lead a nearby community. This is where he truly began to learn about human nature—about how difficult it can be to guide others. And believe me, this was not an easy lesson. In fact, this was the moment when Benedict lived out, in its fullest sense, the exhortation we heard from St Paul in today’s second reading: “Join with me in suffering for the Gospel.”

What happened? The very community he was leading tried to poison him. Why? Because Benedict’s standards were too demanding for them. He aimed too high. And how did he respond? He did not retaliate or argue. Instead, he calmly left. Once again, he made a wise and well-discerned decision.

At that time, Benedict felt it was better to live alone with God. He withdrew because he saw things differently. He had a broader, more global vision—one that allowed him to grow even further in wisdom.

In time, Benedict was blessed with deeper spiritual insight and new disciples who truly wanted to learn from him. It was through these experiences, and his remarkably visionary approach, that the Rule of St Benedict was born. This famous document responded to the needs of people in Benedict’s own day, it paved the way for many generations—and it continues to guide thousands of monks around the world, as well as many lay people who strive to live according to its spirit.

It was also Benedict who set the pattern of placing monasteries high in the mountains—think of Monte Cassino. Even today, many Benedictine monasteries are blessed with truly spectacular locations, places that lift both the eyes and the soul.

Finally, consider Benedict’s own experience of a kind of Transfiguration. All his life, he aimed high, relentlessly moving upward. In the final phase of his life, he was granted an overwhelming vision of light. We are told that he saw the whole world gathered into a single ray of sunlight. Within that light, he saw a soul being carried upward by angels in a ball of fire. And I like to believe that there, as in today’s Gospel, Benedict beheld Christ himself—revealed in his cosmic glory.

Gregory the Great, Benedict’s biographer, explains how such a vision was possible. It happened because Benedict’s mind and heart had grown so vast that they could embrace the whole world.

And that is my message to you: aim high. Take risks. Grow in wisdom. Imitate St Benedict by expanding your heart and your mind, and step by step, become a person of his stature. Thus you too will be a blessing for many.

 

On Friday, 14th February we celebrated in a small way our long-standing friendship and connection with Maredsous Abbey School in Belgium. Our school captain Peter Purcell welcomed and exchanged gifts – including sports gear and beer! – with the school captain at Maredsous, Alexis van Rijckevorsel. Both young men could converse in the language of the other which immediately warmed relations.

Two other Maredsous students, Maximilien, (Alexis’ brother), and François Mertens were present, having just completed a six week stay ‘on exchange’ at Glenstal Abbey School, benefiting from a tradition that goes back decades. They fully participated in the school life and so we are all the better for it.

They also recalled our shared past: that Maredsous received from Ireland one of its outstanding abbots, the Dubliner Bl. Joseph Columba Marmion OSB. It was in his memory that Glenstal Abbey was founded by the monks of Maredsous in 1927.

One of the founders, Fr Hubert Janssens OSB, is Max’s grand-uncle and François and must surely be of the extended family of another founder, Fr Winoc Mertens OSB! Deep roots and shared values from the Benedictine tradition enrich our students and prepare them to make their contributions to the world.

May ‘the strong [among them] have something to long after, and the weak not draw back in alarm!’ (RB 65).

To this end we appreciate the leadership of Ms Grainne Foley, Deputy Principal,  and Abbot Columba McCann OSB.

John O’Callaghan OSB

We invite you to join our long-running Easter retreat taking place from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th April.

Journey with us from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday and deepen your experience of these holy days through solemn liturgies, a series of talks, time together and space for personal reflection.

Talks will include:

• ‘This Pale Galilean’ with Simon Sleeman OSB on Good Friday.
• ‘A Good Friday Meditation’ with Oscar McDermott OSB.
• ‘The Mystery and the Mud’ with Emmaus O’Herlihy OSB.
• ‘The Empty Tomb and Faith in the Resurrection (Jn 20:1-10)’ with Lino Moreira OSB.

The cost is €360 fully residential, €250 non residential including meals, or €180 fully residential for students.

For bookings and more information contact guestmaster@glenstal.com